Monday, January 19, 2015

Muna Obiekwe died of Kidney failure yesterday and new details of how long he has been battling the ailment have been revealed by his producer, actress Vera Kanu, who was a mother figure to the late actor. She disclosed that he discovered his kidney problem a long time ago but like most people, he thought he could manage it.

He only took his drugs and medication once in a while as ‘Muna never believed the ailment could lead to his death. He believed he would survive it like he did the gunshot and death of his parents. He was not a man given to worrying about things. He believed it was not a coincidence his parents named him Munachimso, a name which means God is walking with me.’

According to Vera Kanu who spoke to iCampusNG, Muna ignored the pain and continued working without paying much attention. The kidney problem persisted and Muna was eventually forced to seek the help of a doctor in a Lagos. The doctor gave him a ray of hope. He assured Muna that his worst fear of Kidney transplant might not happen if only he could do up to 20 dialyses.

“I was with him to the last hour. He was to do up to 20 dialyses; the doctor said if the dialysis improved his condition, the worse would certainly be over. He will be okay only if he stays away from alcohol but you know our artiste,” she concluded.

Another source told the online news portal that “the dialysis was expensive for Muna. He was doing two in a week sometimes. And he would need blood injection on each occasion. Each appointment was costing him between N250, 000 to N300, 000; money he did not really have to spend. His health was eating deep into his purse yet Muna refused to go cap in hand begging for alms. He was a private guy who didn’t want the press or his colleagues to feast on his pain, and cast aspersions on Nollywood’s industry of beggars’.

Vera, his godmother corroborated the point. “He was managing it on his own. As a matter of fact, he has been managing it for a while until Ejiro Okurame and I came on board to help. We were combining resources to help him but there was very little we could do to save him. We had to enlist the help of Patience Ozokwor and Kanayo O. Kanayo (KOK) at a point. They rendered the help they could until he died.

“The guy was private. He kept to himself a lot and most importantly, kept his private life private; for instance, many people did not even know he was married with two children. Such was his life. He didn’t want press or his colleagues to start prying. He was particularly afraid of the press, hence his shutting his colleagues out of his pain. He knew if some Nollywood people got to know about it, the press would also get to know. He refused to beg to save Nollywood’s image, he in-turn, lost himself.”
Further more, it was reported that he was a chain smoker and heavy drinker. Despite his condition, it was revealed he was still consuming alcohol on a regular basis.

“Everybody in the industry knows Muna drinks a lot; even when he’s shooting in the North, he has a way of finding alcohol. He fell into it, after he lost his parents in a ghastly motor accident. ‘As a matter of fact, he was supposed to be in that car with them but by stroke of luck, he wasn’t and was spared. Afterwards, Muna took solace in liquor but that never affected his job. He was just like Sam Loco; he could drink the whole sea but when he hears the director shout ‘action,’ he gets into character. Muna was a method character despite his flaws’’ a source tod the online portal.

Speaking on the drinking habit despite his ailment, his godmother, Vera Kanu said ‘It’s not like he drinks heavily like you guys said. He drank but not as you are putting it. Muna even called me during the holiday that he is now okay and ready to work so I should start bringing jobs because I was his producer. I told him thank God and that I would start as long as he does not do what the doctor told him not to do, which was drinking. The problem came back and he has been on it since then till he died.”

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